Receive all updates via Facebook.

Washington (ANI): American singer Mariah Carey refuses to acknowledge her birthdays – because she is terrified of getting older. The 37-year-old Butterfly star, who prefers to think of herself as a child who never grows up, never celebrates her advancing years, and has gone so far as to ban the use of the word "birthday", referring to them instead as "anniversaries".

"I'm eternally 12. And that 12-year-old inside me is an eternal optimist. Honestly, I don't even have birthdays," Contactmusic quoted her as saying.

"I call them anniversaries. It really is about how young you feel. Some people convince themselves they are old, or they think, 'I have to grow up now. I will still always choose a day at Disney World over a night in Las Vegas. That's who I am," she added.